5 Albums That Nearly Broke Up the Band

Bands can break up for a wide variety of reasons, but these five bands nearly came to an end over the creation of a specific album in their catalogues. Here are five albums that nearly broke up the band.

1. R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)

With its 2012 break-up, R.E.M. may have lasted about 20 years longer than it truly needed to, but we nearly lost the band all the way back in 1985 during the recording of its third album Fables of the Reconstruction. According to the band's biography, the album's sessions in England were difficult and miserable, with the Georgia quartet being unused to such gloomy weather and English food. Luckily the band pulled through and delivered its third classic LP in a row.

2. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

Since 1985, Radiohead has somehow managed to maintain its five-piece line-up without any alterations (other than recent touring percussionist Clive Deamer), but everything nearly collapsed during the creation of Kid A around 1999/2000. The band's new electronic sound placed guitarist Ed O'Brien and drummer Phil Selway in a difficult position, as they weren't sure of their role in the band outside of a rock context. However, tensions reached their apex when it came the to album's sequencing, as arguments arose about whether to release a double or single LP. Eventually, two separate albums were compiled from the sessions, Kid A and Amnesiac, and the band went on to release more excellent work.

3. The Beach Boys - Smile (c. 1967)

The Beach Boys' legendary album Smile had such a difficult and tense creation process that it was never finished or officially released until 2011, more than 40 years after recording began. The band's previous album Pet Sounds had already stirred up controversy within the band for basically being a Brian Wilson solo album featuring the Beach Boys, but Smile strayed even further from the band's surf-pop roots, with singer Mike Love referring to the lyrics by Van Dyke Parks as "acid alliteration".

4. Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)

Though the creation of Nirvana's breakthrough album Nevermind didn't drive the band to the brink of collapse, the album's commercial success was a different story. Prior to the band's mainstream success, songwriting royalties had been split equally between the three members, but when Nevermind became massive, Kurt Cobain sought a larger retroactive share of the royalties, as he wrote nearly all of the band's songs. Cobain ended up with 75 percent, and Nirvana nearly split over the disagreement.

5. Blur - 13 (1999)

The relationship between the members of Blur is less than stellar (even during the Blur reunion Damon Albarn claimed he couldn't work with Alex James and Dave Rowntree), but the band's lowest point came during the recording of the band's highly experimental 13 in 1998. The sessions were marked by a stylistic clash between primary songwriters Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon, and though Coxon would last through the album's sessions, he would eventually leave the group early in the recording of its next album Think Tank in 2002.

Tags

R.E.M., Nirvana, Blur, Radiohead, The Beach Boys